You win, I win.

So, I’ve spent the last few days frantically writing my new Giles story. But, unlike most of my work to date – in fact, unlike most writer’s work – this story is completely different in that I will only be writing the ending…

What?

No, I still haven’t lost it yet. And yes, I am absolutely on the level.

My latest Giles story, The Cheating Jeweller, is going to consist of a single chapter that forms the very end of the story.

Seriously. What?

Alright. Let me explain.

A few days ago, I announced the arrival of DS Evelyn Giles on the Twitter stage. Since then, I’ve had had some varied responses from some equally intrigued readers:

‘Is this just a gimmick?’

‘Is there any point to this?’

‘How are you going to make this work?’

In answer to these questions:

Yes, it is a gimmick – of sorts anyway. I wouldn’t do something like this without having some sort of plan and the ultimate plan is to spread the word about my character and my stories, so yes it is kind of a gimmick – no way around that one I’m afraid.

Yes, there is a point to it – the idea is to introduce the character of DS Giles and my stories to people in a way that is (a) a little different (and b) in bitesized chunks so that readers can fit it into their otherwise busy lives. By the time I’m finished with the DS Giles Twitter account, I will hopefully have given people not only a taste of the Giles character, but also of my work in general as well…

Which brings me to the third question. How am I going to make this work?

Hence my comments at the beginning of the post.

I have designed a story called The Cheating Jeweller, which will be released to those who follow Giles Twitter account (and also to anyone who reads this blog) over the course of five days, and in bitesized chunks.

Over the course of these five days, I will be encouraging readers to try to solve the crime before a set deadline. Anyone who submits their solution and gets it right will automatically be entered into a draw to win some cool crime fiction prizes and then the solution to the crime will be released to all in the form of the final chapter of the story.

So, what’s the benefit for you, the reader?

Well let’s start with the obvious: You get a chance to work out the solution to a crime as you watch it unfold over Twitter, you could win some cool prizes and (even if you don’t) you get to have a bit of fun while you’re doing it. In addition to this you’ll basically get a sample chapter of my work (a chapter that no one else will ever see) for free – not a bad deal for a few minutes of your logic.

The benefit for me?

Well, first off I get to do something a little different – I always wanted to try my hand at writing a story over Twitter and this gives me the perfect excuse to try it. Second off, I will hopefully be exposing DS Giles to a whole new collection of readers, and maybe – just maybe – some of them might decide they like what they read and come back to me when I release The Bluebell Informant.

Even if that doesn’t pan out, I’ve had a lot of fun doing it, which is really a reward in itself.

As far as I’m concerned it’s a win-win situation. So if you’re interested in taking part, follow Giles on Twitter or keep an eye out for the daily updates as they start coming through this blog.